Mentoring can occur naturally in organisations, so what would be the benefits of a formal mentoring program and what are the issues with organic mentoring?
Blush Cloud Founder Katya Veleva started her mentoring journey over a decade ago when she was first trained to mentor secondary school pupils by Aim Higher, an organisation focused on supporting young people who may not be likely to pursue a university education, to indeed - aim higher. She worked with Aim Higher and the University of Portsmouth with their outreach program for about three years and in her own words, supporting those four girls for the Portsmouth Girls School was one of the “hardest and most rewarding experiences” in her life.
In her career in architecture, Katya continued to be devoted to mentoring. She designed and delivered the work experience program at architectural practices she has worked at for over two years and also closely participated in the practice’s R&D as an education champion for another two years. Additionally, she volunteered as a mentor with the Stephen Lawrence Trust for two years, and with Built By Us for another two.
All of this experience finally lead her to propose, design and head a global mentoring program for women in digital construction - the Women in BIM Mentor Program. With the first cohort completing their mentoring commitments, and additional various group mentoring events throughout 2020, Katya’s experience has been extended and enriched by applicants and participants from 23 different countries.
If you are interested in setting up a mentoring program for your organisation, Blush Cloud provides various support for your endeavour.
You are welcome to enjoy a detailed webinar breaking down the steps of putting together a mentoring program here. Additionally, you can also use this webinar to give your mentors foundational training. Both of those resources are entirely free of charge.
Additionally, if you still have questions and are concerned about the specificity of your situation, you can reach out for one-off consultancy service, where we can help you plan for your program. If this kind of organising is not something you have the resource internally for, you can supplement this with a continued consultant service that is entirely bespoke and can include support in putting together the required documentation for the program, designing and executing the selection method and even long term support for your mentors.
